Wackiness Prevails During Week

January 22, 1989|By WARNER HESSLER Sports Editor

MIAMI, FLA. — As the chartered aircraft ferrying the Cincinnati Bengals circled the Everglades in south Florida late Sunday in preparation for landing at Miami International Airport, a voice boomed over the intercom.

"This is your pilot. If you look off to the left side of the aircraft, you'll see the Grand Canyon."

After stifling their initial impulse to stare out the windows, the players settled back in their seats.

"Aww, it's just that nut (linebacker Ed) Brady," said one player.

Welcome to Super Bowl XXIII. Welcome to Super Bowl Week. Welcome to our annual compilation of mirth, madness and mischief that make the seven days leading up to the game more fun than the game itself.

THE WEEK WAS less than 24 hours old when another "M" word was added - mayhem.

The Miami skyline was wrapped in an orange glow from buildings and cars that were set on fire, and the sounds of gunfire and bricks smashing car windows were heard as the residents of the downtown Overtown ghetto began a two-night riot that threatened to ruin the week for Super Bowl organizers.

Bengals' receiver Eddie Brown, who grew up in the 30-square block Overtown district, was asked if he considered returning to his old neighborhood to try and defuse the situation.

"Man, I grew up in Overtown but I'm not going back there," he said. "I'm respected in there, but not that much."

The most widely used quote was uttered by Cincinnati cornerback Solomon Wilcots after he and several teammates went to a movie Monday night and returned to their downtown hotel while the riot was in full swing.

"We went to see `Mississippi Burning', and we went back to our hotel and saw Miami burning," he said.

ED BRADY WAS the star of Super Bowl Week, a whacko who earned a berth in the Super Bowl Week Hall of Fame after his first interview session.

He said the Bengals were going to beat the San Francisco 49ers for the title because "we eat more raisins than they do". He also said ice cream was his favorite food because "it doesn't have any bones".

He said a lot of things that will live forever in Super Bowl Week annals.

On President George Bush - "Since he's from Texas and Maine, we'll split it right down the middle and say he's from Cincinnati."

On his Ethel Merman imitation - "One day we were sitting in a team meeting and I started singing like Ethel Merman. It blew Coach (Sam) Wyche's mind. You know how you all of a sudden get the urge to do Ethel Merman? I hate when that happens. I've done Ethel Merman in crowded buses, in restaurants and a lot of other places. I'm sure everybody gets that urge sometimes."

On his Elvis Presley imitation - "I saw Elvis recently. He was eating a cheeseburger in Michigan and I did my Elvis imitation for him. He liked it."

More Ed Brady later.

LET'S PUT THE Super Bowl's economic impact on a community in perspective.

The Miami Chamber of Commerce said Super Bowl XXIII will bring about $150 million to south Florida.

A spokesman for the Miami Police Department said the value of illegal drugs and firearms entering south Florida each year is valued at about $20 billion.

BOOMER ESIASON, the Bengals quarterback, returned to his hotel room after practice Thursday and received a message that said George Bush had called him. Esiason said he called the number on the message and had the following conversation:

"This is the White House."

"Is George Bush there?"

"No, he's not in. Is there a message?"

"Yeah, just tell him Boomer returned his call."

AS PREDICTED here earlier in the week, the price of scalped tickets to the game dropped to near their face falue of $100 by the weekend.

On Monday, the price of an end zone ticket averaged about $450, and a sideline ticket sold for as much as $1,450.

By Saturday, undercover policemen who posed as ticket buyers and made dozens of arrests said the average price was $300 for the end zone and $550 for the sidelines.

One policeman said the price should drop even more by today's kickoff. He said the riots earlier in the week obviously scared off a lot of fans who might have flown to Miami in search of tickets.

THE RIOTING earlier in the week also appeared to scare away a large number of out-of-town fans who might have considered staying in downtown Miami hotels.

The half-dozen or so large hotels on Biscayne Bay were booked solid for the weekend, but most of the hotels in the city had rooms available.

If airport traffic can be used as an indicator, most of the high-rollers found lodging north of Miami in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Approximately 700 of the 1,052 private aircraft that filed flight plans for south Florida were parked at the two airports in Fort Lauderdale, and one of the two runways at the largest airport was turned into a parking lot for the planes.